University of Minnesota Has Repeat Win at NAILE

By a 22-point margin, the dairy cattle judging team from the University of Minnesota placed 1^st overall in the intercollegiate contest held November 6 at the North American International Livestock Exposition, Louisville, KY. 

This follows a 31-point margin win by the University of Minnesota at the same contest last year.  The University of Minnesota has placed 1^st overall in the NAILE collegiate contest 5 of the past 7 years.

Photo caption:  First-place collegiate team in the dairy cattle judging contest at NAILE, Louisville, KY, from the University of Minnesota (l. to r.): Dr. Les Hansen, coach; Gabriella Sorg, Hastings, MN (4^th individual), Austin Schmitt, Rice, MN (2^nd individual), Ethan Dado, Amery, WI (High individual), Laura Jensen, Comstock, WI (5^th individual).

All 4 members of this year’s Minnesota team placed among the top 5 individually – Ethan Dado, Amery, WI, was 1^st overall, Austin Schmitt, Rice, MN, was 2^nd overall, Gabriella Sorg, Hastings, MN, was 4^th overall, and Laura Jensen, Comstock, WI, was 5^th overall.  As a team, they placed 1^st in Guernsey, 1^st in Jersey, 2^nd in Holstein, 3^rd in Ayrshire, and 5^th in Brown Swiss among the 17 four-year university teams.  This follows a  victory this fall by University of Minnesota in the National Intercollegiate Dairy Cattle Judging Contest at World Dairy Expo, Madison, WI.

Individually, Dado was also 1^st Guernsey, 2^nd Holstein, and 9^th Ayrshire.  Schmitt was 4^th Guernsey, 6^th Ayrshire, 9^th Jersey, and 10^th Holstein.  Sorg was 2^nd Guernsey and 2^nd Jersey, and Jensen was 1^st Jersey and 4^th Brown Swiss.  Coaches for the team are Dr. Les Hansen, Scott Ellinghuysen, Alicia Thurk, and Eric Houdek.

Team rank (points): 1. Minnesota (2152), 2. Cal Poly (2130), 3. UW-Madison (2067), 4. Kentucky (2065), 5. Penn State (2034), 6. UW-River Falls (2033), 7. Purdue (2018), 8. Cornell (2004), 9. North Dakota State (1997), 10. Kansas State (1996), 11. Michigan State, 12. Ohio State, 13. Iowa State, 14. UW-Platteville, 15. North Carolina State, 16. South Dakota State, 17. Maryland.

Photo caption:  First-place collegiate team in the dairy cattle judging contest at NAILE, Louisville, KY, from the University of Minnesota (l. to r.): Dr. Les Hansen, coach; Gabriella Sorg, Hastings, MN (4^th individual), Austin Schmitt, Rice, MN (2^nd individual), Ethan Dado, Amery, WI (High individual), Laura Jensen, Comstock, WI (5^th individual).